Video Editing Software Report

Video Editing Software is a software application used for the altering of a video clip. It can be used to cut and paste imported portions of any video to make a new tidier sequence of a video clip or even a new montage of different clips which is then exported using the same software. Some of these packages also allow you to encode the video so it can be prepared for use on a DVD, mobile phone or uploaded to the internet. Special Effects can easily be added to your new sequence using transitions or monochrome for example. Monochrome is basically a pure black and white or two colour effect as shown below. If any other colours or shades are added to the black and white then the effect is known as greyscale as shown below.

Monochrome effect

To enable precise editing of a sequence the video is displayed on a timeline. This allows the user to finely edit, arrange, rearrange or find a specific suitable editing location within the video clip. The audio can also be manipulated or synced with the video in the same way on different timelines as shown below.

Linear editing is the original method of video editing where tapes are edited by using tape to tape editing to make a new sequence onto a master video tape. Although Non-linear editing was initially frowned upon as a new technology it is highly favoured nowadays as it is way simpler to use, less expensive and no physical cutting etc is required.
Linear is almost obsolete now but is sometimes still favoured if the job is simple, for instance joining two pieces of video together. It is still quicker and easier using linear in this instance.

Operating Systems Report

An operating system or OS is basically a program giving a means of interfacing, managing applications and allocating memory on your computer, they allow the user to control their computer in a much simpler way than DOS (disk operating system) alone by using windows and control or text panels called a GUI (Graphical User Interface). The programs that are accessed are called applications and they use the operating system via a defined APS (application program interface) to make requests.
The OS also lets you command the computer by typing and using the mouse. Another term to describe it is WIMP (window, icon, menu, pointing device) but this term is rarely used these days.

An example of MAC OS X operating system

The OS does many different tasks including controlling your printer and hard disk, keeps files and their directories on order, controls inputs and output devices such as the monitor, keyboard, scanner and mouse.
The most common example of an Operating System is Microsoft Windows but many others are available such as DOS, MAC OS X, Linux, Solaris and OS/2.

Operating systems aren’t only found on home computers, they are also used to control games consoles, laptops and super computers. They all require a means of controlling and interfacing with them otherwise they would be useless.

Database Report

A relational database is a collection of data, each piece of data is known as a field. This fields are separated into tables made up of columns and rows. The columns in databases are called attributes and the rows are called tuples as shown below. An example of this could be a business order entry database which would have a table for customers containing columns with Name, Address, Contact Number etc. A further table would be used for orders including Product, Customer, Order Date, Price etc. With this information in place an employee can search or do a ‘query’ for particular information. For instance they could look up accounts to be paid using certain search criteria and the results would be returned filtered to contain only this data.

The language used to interface with relational databases is known as SQL (structured query language). Using this language the user can accumulate data for reports and use interactive queries for data from a relational database.

A database needs to be organised so that there is no repetitious or redundant data being stored in more than one table. This process is called normalization and consists of five stages called normal form (1NF), second normal form (2NF), third normal form (3NF) and so on. Fourth normal form is used occasionally and fifth normal form is very rarely used. Third normal form is the most common normalization used for practical applications. The end result eliminates any duplication of data and thus avoids any problems with the database. Normalization is only a guideline but is almost always followed.

The managing of databases is done by using software known as a database management systems (DBMS). After the process of normalization the tables and fields can be entered into a database using the software to create forms on which anyone can then enter data into the individual fields. The data can then be stored and retrieved using query forms as described in paragraph one. Reports can also be produced in the same way using certain search criteria. Another feature in the software is the use of Forms which is basically a simpler or user friendly entry form for entering data.